The Final Empire is a great read.

I love the worldbuilding. It’s a weird world, with strange nightly mists and a near constant fall of ash that gets on everything. Even stranger, it’s hinted that the world was once much more like our own. On top of that, you have a quasi-Feudal society ruled by a powerful, potentially immortal being. All of which leads to some pretty obvious seeds for some crazy stuff to go on.

Then (so crazy it gets its own paragraph), you have the magic systems. One thing I’ve always loved about Sanderson is how he does magic. In this case, you have a set of abilities all related to metals. In the main magic system (Allomancy), you consume metals to basically give you super powers. There are 8 (10? 11? more?) metals each of which does something different. Most are paired together in various ideas with related but opposite effects. It’s very cool.

After that, I love the characters. Kelsier is a mad genius crime boss that’s good with people (and oh that finale; that legitimately surprised me). Vin is grows from a scared little mouse just trying to stay alive to something of a badass. Sazed brings a bit of an ‘other’ perspective in more ways than one. I really grow to care about all of them, even if I don’t necessary like them / agree with their worldview(s).

And finally, I love the plot. It’s called the Final Empire for a reason. When you have an immortal, super powerful ruler, you really can build a society that can last a span of over a thousand years. Doesn’t mean there won’t be corruption though. That turns into part heist story, part action/thriller, part revolution. If all the rest weren’t enough, I keep turning pages as I want to know more.

Side note: I am re-reading / re-listening to the Mistborn series before reading the two new ones that came out this year. I think this is only the second time I’ve read them and it’s been a few years, so it’s kind of crazy how much I had forgotten about the first book. At the same time, it’s fascinating knowing how certain things will play out that are only hinted at now.